San Jose stowaway grounded with six months in jail

A woman has been sentenced two six months in jail after stowing away on a Southwest flight from San Jose to Los Angeles last week.

A woman who was arrested twice last week after sneaking onto a flight from San Jose to Los Angeles and then returning to Los Angeles International Airport days later has been sentenced to nearly six months in jail, a city attorney’s office spokesman said today.

Marilyn Hartman, 62, was sentenced to 177 days in jail after she admitted violating her probation in the two incidents last week, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office spokesman Frank Mateljan said.

Hartman got onto a flight without a ticket from Mineta San Jose International Airport to LAX on Aug. 4 and was arrested upon landing in Los Angeles, airport police said.

She was placed on 24 months’ probation and released last Wednesday after being ordered to stay away from LAX unless she had a valid ticket for a flight, Mateljan said. But she showed up the next day and was seen wandering from terminal to terminal at the airport and was arrested shortly afterward, Mateljan said.

Hartman tried several times earlier this year to board flights from San Francisco International Airport to Hawaii but was unsuccessful, San Mateo County prosecutors said.

After her fourth failed attempt, prosecutors had her placed on May 23 into a mental health probation program. However, she again tried to board flights at SFO twice in July.

The Transportation Security Administration and Southwest Airlines are investigating how Hartman got onto the flight last week without a ticket, San Jose airport officials said.